You'd better have a chamois in those cycling shorts, 'cause this bike trainer kicks some serious butt. It communicates with your computer, varying the amount of resistance, reflecting real-world conditions as you ride through different courses. It also gives you the ability to race against a real human competitor on a LAN or against a software-based virtual competitor.

Includes 14 preset courses and a 4-week training program, plus it allows the rider to program his or her own custom courses

View personal ride stats, including Speed, Distance, Ride Time, Cadence, Heart Rate and Power Output, and store them for your own training history, making your indoor cycle training a lot more enjoyable and effective

Resistance changes based on the course and rider input

Includes 2 DVD's of actual European road courses-the Limoges climb from the 2004 Tour de France and the 2004 Verona World Championship course - these courses are coordinated with the Real Axiom resistance unit to make you feel like you're really there

Also includes internet software app that enables RealAxiom trainers to compete on-line against riders anywhere in the world. Join established races or create your own.

Both my friend and I purchased this item. His was missing a part, as was mine (a bolt). When I opened the box, some of the hardware was sitting freely at the bottom of the box, and the edges of the box were not sealed, so undoubtedly, the parts fell out. What is that about???

This is a good trainer, but as with all interactive trainers, the software is critical. The software, and the support is not poor (at least when using miles/lbs.)

Look, when I am in good shape, I can do a solo 50 miles on flat ground in about 2 1/2 hrs. But when I tried the Elite Real Axiom, I was able to push out an average of 360 Watts for 12 miles at an average speed of 29 mph! I guess at 52, I am no ready for the Tour de France!. I am calling Sky Racing tomorrow...

Seriously, the resistance calibration does not work - at least not when using miles. There is a way to change to resistance calibration, but I have spent hours searching the correct values (there are 3 numbers) and its a guessing game.

Elite Support acts surprised, and has no idea what the correct numbers should be. Is this critical? Definitely - You can buy a good trainer for half the price. I have used the Proform TdF and that was a solid, accurate trainer.

That said, I am keeping it. I think once I get the "right" settings, it will be a good trainer. Hopefully, I figure it out before I am back on the roads in spring.

I have had this trainer for over 3 years now and have had no problems. It's a hard work out every time because I always race against my best time -- no slacking off. The Italian support site doesn't work very well but haven't needed it yet. I went to Verona this summer so it was almost like I'd been there before.

I live in an area where riding outdoors from December through March is very rare. Even with all the right gear it can be tough. I have owned several trainers (Fluid and Magnetic) over the last few years and I would say I am partial to Fluid trainers but in general, I have never remotely found the trainer to be (shall we say) inspiring... loathsome more like it. But a necessary evil to maintain SOME fitness in the off season...

Then I received this item as a gift... and WOW! No trainer can perfectly emulate the road, but this one does a FAR better job than the others I have tried... and the Video aspects, combined with the internet competitors plus using the previous workouts as competitors has made a HUGE difference in my interest! It is like playing a giant VIDEO GAME with your bike and your legs being the only way to control whether you win or loose! I find myself actually looking forward to trainer rides ALMOST as much as actual ride!

The selection of courses is very good, but be warned that the PRO level ones are going to change your perception of how tough an indoor trainer workout can be!

The icing on the cake is the ability to pull in my Garmin GPS routes from the last several years... though I can't "see" where I am riding in these instances (unlike the videos that come with it) the ability to "race" against my rides from last summer or last year is nothing short of fun...

Now... if only I could simulate the WIND, the Oxygen deprivation and the dogs chasing me... then it would be as real as need be!

I recommend displaying this on a BIGGER screen TV or projector instead of a small computer monitor. While the Video quality isn't 1080P HD, the experience is MUCH better with a larger screen... besides... after 15 mins of climbing the Tourmalet you won't be looking up the road as much as staring at your front wheel... :)

STRONGLY RECOMMEND for those confined to indoor training more than you would like!

If you hate just sitting and spinning and have some cash burning a whole in your pocket then this trainer is for you. After many hours of mundane sitting and spinning I upgraded to the RealAxiom Interactive trainer. It is worth every penny! You can create your own courses with hills and flats and watch your performance on your computer. I use a laptop on a chair next to my bike and trainer to see the course I am using. I can watch old cycling movies or filmed bike rides from around the world to help pass the time. It is a great system and really helps in the off season. This is not a cheap system so be sure that you can afford to drop the coin on it and have it sit around and collect dust during the main ridding season.

This is my third axiom trainer. My primary use is for winter training. On average these units last about 3 years, I have burnt up the 2 previous units. My biggest problem with these trainers is that it is hard to get repair support. Overall it is a good winter trainer, compact and stores easily. I would just like to add that nothing beats ridding outdoors.

Pros: If you don't have the ability to ride outdoors everytime you want to this trainer would definitely solve that problem. It does what I expected to do, so I could still overlook the obvious problems with the software.Cons: The software is full of annoying little bugs. For example the units switch from miles to km for no apparent reason, some items get disabled randomly, etc. Nothing that prevents enjoying a training session but enough to make you consider writing your own front end software. Also the description is misleading. There is no 4 week training plan and the videos included are not the ones described. The videos included are Vassiviere Part 1 and Col du Galibier.

I still have to give it 4 stars because I can do a workout that feels almost as good as being outdoors. The software gets 2 stars...

This is a very nice video trainer a bit hard to first set up and get going but tech help from elite is awesome and made set up easy and very helpful this trainer let you ride different race courses it will give you one good workout i would recommend it if your budget does